


Flare up

by Valentajn



Category: Original Work
Genre: Arthritis, Bisexual Female Character, Cuddling & Snuggling, Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff without Plot, Implied/Referenced Underage Sex, Lazy Mornings, Lesbian Character, Pampering, Physical Disability, Self-Indulgent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-08-14
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:09:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25903360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Valentajn/pseuds/Valentajn
Summary: A girl with arthritis wakes up with a flare up next to her girlfriend. Fluff ensures.
Relationships: Original Female Character/Original Female Character
Comments: 1
Kudos: 13





	Flare up

The first thought that got trough Laura's head was "I'm cold", and it really shouldn't have surprised her as much as it did, considering she slept naked in the middle of December. She burrowed deeper under the covers and pushed her face into the pillow, hoping it would be enough for her to warm up without leaving the bed to get more clothes, or any for that matter.

It, however, wasn't nearly enough. She sighed, lifting her head up and looking around the room, hoping she wouldn't have to stand up with these achy legs of hers. The floor was spotless apart from the two pairs of boxers next to the bed, a sweater and a hoodie by the door, and pants that were probably three sizes too big on Laura tossed on the beanbag in the corner. All in all, everything that could actually keep her warm was way too far away.

She felt rather than heard the body next to her move. A warm, muscular arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her close. Abby let out something between a grunt and a yawn, and mumbled a barely audible "good mornin', doll". Smiling at the nickname, Laura turned around to look at the other girl.

"Morning, Bear." 

Laura lifted her hand up to her mouth and softly kissed it, then pressed it to her girlfriend's lips. Then she squeezed both of her cheeks, poked her forehead, and booped her nose, knowing that her nonsense would make her girlfriend laugh. She tried to ignore the dull throbbing in her fingers in favour of smiling at what was, in her humble and not all biased opinion, the prettiest girl to ever exist in this entire world. 

When they calmed down Abby looked at her with half lidded eyes, pressing half of her face into her pillow to keep herself from erupting in laughter again. Eventually, she asked "What? 'm I that gross you can't even kiss me?" Laura just knew she had that stupid grin on her face, she could hear it in her voice and it made her smile like a lovesick schoolgirl too. Not that she wasn't a lovesick schoolgirl, but still. 

"Oh, I can kiss you, my dear, but not right now. I may not be fully awake yet but I do remember very well where that dirty mouth of yours went last night." 

She was met with a playful "You're mean, go away.", and Abby turning away from her. So she used her chance and sat up, letting the huge blanket slip away from her chest. The sight apparently made Abby forget about how annoyed she was a few seconds ago. At least if her open mouth and the hand frantically searching for her glasses were anything to go by. 

Laura giggled at her girlfriend before shoving her away, squeezing her face, and playfully whisper-shouting "You already saw this like a hundred times, pervert!" 

She threw the blanket over Abby's head and slowly, carefully, walked over to the dresser to look for some clothes. When she found a yellow plush hoodie with bears, grass, and a bee felted on, she smiled triumphantly, ignoring the wolf whistle her girlfriend let out when she looked at her. She tried to put in on but flinched at the pressure she felt in her upper arms as she lifted them up. 

After a few more tries, none of which was successful, she groaned and threw the hoodie on the floor. Abby was probably staring at her. 

Maybe she should ask for help. 

She probably should. 

She definitely should...

Not that knowing that makes asking feel any less humiliating. It was still humiliating after an entire decade of her joints destroying themselves for no other reason than to make her life a living hell. Besides, if Laura even tried to speak her voice would probably start cracking immediately. Abby would get worried. Then Laura would feel bad for worrying her. Then she'd start crying. 

Because more words obviously weren't getting out of Laura, Abby decided to just get up and help her. And Laura was honestly thankful for that. She let the tall girl manoeuvre her right arm, the better one, into the sleeve of the hoodie without lifting it up more than necessary. Then she pulled the hoodie over her head and moved her left arm into it's sleeve. It all seemed so easy when someone did it for her, especially if it was her girlfriend, who learned to do it without inflicting Laura any pain. And yet Laura knew, she just knew, that she had no chance of doing that on her own right now. But, in all honesty, she really didn't mind sweet, gentle Abby taking care of her like this. 

The hoodie went all the way down to the top of her knees, but it would be just long enough to cover Abby's hips. She lifted the hood over her head and let the softness and the soothing scent of milk and honey and Abigail engulf her.

Abby walked across the room to the desk and took a few pills. Letrox. Used at least half an hour before breakfast. Something that kept both of their thyroid glands going. She swallowed one and gave Laura the other two, biting back a laugh at the sight of Laura grimacing as she put it in her mouth. 

Since she felt all small and warm and protected, she walked back to the bed. Abby was right behind her in the sports bra she slept in, not bothering to put anything else on. She laid back next to the wall and wraped an arm over Laura's hip. 

Laura got the chance to look at her properly. Her short black hair was even more of a mess than usual. A small, barely visible blush was covering her ears and nose. Her turquoise eyes were looking at Laura through huge round glasses. She didn't spend as much time outside anymore because of the cold, so her dark skin lost almost all of it's freckles, except for the ones on her upper lip. A lazy smile appeared on her face when her wide hand started combing through Laura's red curls. Before Laura feel back asleep she caught a glimpse of the clock on the shelf. It was only 6 AM. She might as well close her eyes a little longer.

...

When Laura woke up again she saw a pair of flannel boxers and soft white sweatpants with pink stripes on the other side of the bed. On top of it was a sticky note that read "went to get u breakfast". Beneath that Abby drew something that appeared to be two bears kissing.

After she put the clothes on she cuddled up to Abby's pillow. It was still warm from her girlfriend using it, so Abby probably wasn't gone for that long. Laura assumed she was showering and would show up fairly quickly with food. All of this felt weirdly domestic even though they've been this close all seventeen years of their lives. If she could, she would choose to also spend the rest of her life like this.

...

The door opened. Her wonderful, angelic, gorgeous girlfriend was bringing her food, and she also wore that ridiculous rainbow sweater her parents and Laura got her as an early Christmas gift. She was also carrying a tube of warming gel, painkillers, and a water bottle filled with something blue. Probably chamomile tea with food coloring. There were two plates on the tray. One had scrambled eggs and a thin grilled cheese sandwich cut into pieces with the crust off. The other had the instant noodles Abby was currently eating every morning. This wasn't the first or last time Abby got something like this for them when Laura had a flare up. 

Abby never explicitly said why she did it, but Laura picked up on it after the third time. The eggs were soft and the sandwich was already cut so Laura didn't need to feel ashamed of how hard it was to hold a knife sometimes. They were also soft and small enough to not hurt her jaw if she couldn't use it properly. The tea that helped her relax had edible dye in it because Laura subconsciously associated yellow fluids with methotrexate, so they make her want to vomit. She was still baffled at how much attention Abby was willing to pay to things she herself would never think about twice. It made her want to tell Abby she loved her over and over and over again, and the shower her in all the love she could possibly fit into her body. 

After they ate it was around 7:30. They were still lying in the huge bed and Abby started playing with Laura's fingers and massaging them. After that she went on to take care of the rest of Laura's arms. None of that really required Laura to move. Just lay back and let Abby move her around when she needed. Without a care in the world, Laura let her. It's not like Abby was ever anything but gentle with her. They did this often in winter. Abby liked spoiling Laura, and Laura, as hard as it is to admit, liked being spoiled sometimes. 

Had anyone else tried to manhandle her like that, Laura wouldn't have obliged, but with Abby it was different. She could probably lift sickly, chubby little Laura up with one arm. But Abby would never use that to force her to do anything. Abby is the one who envelops Laura in a hug and who kisses all over her head and shoulders and hands when she's having a flare-up. She lets the small girl steal her clothes and crawl into her lap whenever she feels sad or bad just clingy. 

Now she's giving Laura something that's probably supposed to be a deep tissue massage. She flips her over without much, or any, effort, and sits down next to her. She pokes Laura's back and gestures to the hoodie. When Laura nods, she pulls it up and starts working on her hips. 

Laura looks over at the heater on the shelf and decides to turn it off for a bit. Her mother didn't get out of work before they started movie night with Abby's parents and Laura's dad yesterday, so Laura couldn't get her methotrexate shot until very late at night. She hoped that would mean she'd get to sleep though the nausa. Apparently not. She also grabs a pink whale plushie and puts it under her head. Abby starts talking about the movie they watched, and Laura let her ramble on and on, knowing that she could talk for hours. 

Honestly, Laura didn't even know how long her girlfriend talked. She listened, of course, like she always did. It's just that the concept of time couldn't be important to her in that moment. All she knew was that Abby was happy rambling to her without getting many responses. She always knew whether Laura paid attention to her. She could read her like an open book. 

The movie was some chick flick from the 80's their mothers watched together in high school. Laura and her father slept through most of it but apparently it was entertaining enough. 

After a while Abby switched to humming something from a Disney movie to fill the silence, but before that she leaned down and whispered something in Laura's ear. 

"You can sleep if you want. I'd rather have you sleep than throw up on my bed." 

As harsh as it would sound to someone else, it sounded endearing to Laura. Abby was rarely harsh, especially with her. This was just her recalling how much agony Laura could be in because of the medicine and wanting her to try and sleep through the worst.

She couldn't get herself to respond. She just put her head down and closed her eyes. Abby was still humming. The slow song just lulled Laura to sleep even quicker. She didn't really register how long she lasted before she fell back asleep.


End file.
